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Marcus Corvinus
Marcus Corvinus is a member of the Corvinus Clan, the progenitor of the entire Vampire Nation, and the original Vampire Elder. He is the main antagonist of Underworld: Evolution, and is portrayed by Scottish actor, Tony Curran. History Born at some point in the mid to late 5th century"After sixteen centuries, William, the father of all werewolves, was dead." ~''Underworld: Evolution'' novelization, Marcus is one of the three known sons of Alexander Corvinus and his wife Helena, and the identical twin brother of William. Like his twin brother, William, Marcus inherited the virus in its active form, which had previously transformed his father into the first Immortal. Marcus shared a strong bond with his twin brother, whom he was closer to than anyone. According to the Prologue in the ''Rise of the Lycans'' novelization, both twins, overconfident due to the knowledge of the fact that they were both immortal, would go out riding at night, with the belief that nothing could hurt them. One such night, while the twins were riding through the paths of the dark forests of the Carpathian Mountains, they were beset by a huge, rabid black mountain wolf, lungeing out at them from the shadows of the trees. The wolf first attacked Marcus, who was unable to defend himself due to his panicking horse"Ivory fangs glistened in the moonlight as the beast leapt at Marcus, who was taken unawares by the wolf's savage attack. His horse reared in alarm, whinnying in terror. All but thrown from his saddle, Marcus clung frantically to the rains of his panicked mount, unable to defend himself. The wolf snarled loudly as it went in for the kill, its hot breath steaming the cold night air." ~ Rise of the Lycans novelization, Prologue. William jumped in front of it and was able to kill the wolf with his sword, but not before it bit his wrist through his chainmail in its death throws. Marcus took his twin to a nearby inn to have his wounds seen to, but as the night wore on, William became seriously ill, developing a high fever, and convulsions racked his body: The Corvinus Strain present in William's body reacted in an immune response with the Rabies virus and the wolf's DNA deposited by the wolf's bite, causing it to mutate, changing William's entire physical composition: William began to sprout hair all over his body, and his face changed to reveal a more wolf-like appearance. Before the night was through, William had become the first Werewolf"On that terrible night, before the shocked eyes of Marcus, William became the first Werewolf, a soulless monster with a bottomless appetite for slaughter." ~ Rise of the Lycans novelization, Prologue. While William was bitten by a wolf and became the first Werewolf, Marcus was later bitten by a bat, mutating his Corvinus Strain with bat DNA which resulted in him becoming the first Vampire and the progenitor of the entire Vampire species. William soon went on to ravage the countryside of Hungary, infecting the populace with his highly infectious lycanthropy virus. In order to combat the growing Werewolf threat, Marcus approached Viktor, a dying warlord, to borrow his military genius and army in exchange for immortality. Viktor accepted and became one of the Vampire Elders. It is likely that Marcus also personally infected Amelia, as she is a Vampire Elder of similar age to Marcus and Viktor. 600 years later, in 1202 A.D., Viktor led a charge into a Hungarian village which William had previously passed through. Instead of finding only William, they found an entire village of newly turned Werewolves. Viktor's army (now the Death Dealers), including Amelia, subdued and severely injured William. Marcus pleaded for his brother's life, but he had been betrayed by Amelia and Viktor, who meant to lock William away for life. Viktor, thinking that if any of the Corvinus brothers were killed, the Immortal bloodline would eventually die (a lie told by Marcus), locked William far away from the reach of Marcus. Marcus then swore vengeance against Viktor and all those loyal to him, but was able to do little, as the Death Dealers were loyal to Viktor alone. As the army became the first Vampire Coven, the Chain was implemented, a system where only one Elder ruled while the other two slumbered in hibernation. Viktor, with the aid of Amelia and the Vampire Council, undercut Marcus's power, ensuring he would never have the strength to free his brother. Thus Viktor remained the true leader of the Vampires, going as far as to allow himself to be referred to as the "oldest and strongest" of them. Marcus claimed that he enjoyed the company of Andreas Tanis, the Official Historian of the Coven, most likely because Tanis knew that Marcus was indeed the original Vampire. ''Underworld: Evolution'' On the eve on Marcus's Awakening for his century of rule, a Lycan plot to combine the Vampire and Werewolf bloodlines becomes evident. A captured Lycan scientist named Singe explains the plans of a powerful Lycan named Lucian under duress - and is killed by a death blow from Viktor. His blood seeps into Marcus's tomb and revives the slumbering Vampire, changing him into a Vampire/Lycan Hybrid. Marcus beheads the treacherous Coven regent, Kraven, after learning his memories, and burns down the Old World Coven, Ördögház. Determined that the time has come to free William, Marcus seeks out Selene, a Vampire Death Dealer who holds half of the key to William's dungeon. He fails on his first attempt thanks to Michael Corvin, Selene's Hybrid lover, who is also a distant relative of Marcus. He learns from Tanis that the other half of the key is held by his father, who had retrieved it from Viktor's body. Marcus attacks and seemingly kills Michael, then drinks Selene's blood, learning the location of his brother. Marcus then confronts his father, and mocks his "sentiments" about the world belonging to the human race, and accusing him of rejecting his own sons, and standing by while William was imprisoned. He then reveals his true plan - to rule over a new race, one in his own image. He seeks to replace his "failed" race of Vampires who have followed Viktor moreso than himself with that of Vampire/Lycan Hybrids. Marcus then severely injures his father and retrieves the other half of the key. Journeying to the old fortress, Marcus proceeds to release William from his dungeon. Their bond is so strong that even the crazed William recognizes Marcus and refuses to harm him. They are soon interrupted by Selene and the survivors of his father's company. Marcus combats Selene, and is enraged when a resurrected Michael fights and kills William. Marcus drives a wing talon through Selene, who survives due to her having previously drank of Alexander's blood. However, Marcus is also distracted by the death of his twin at the hands of Michael, and is wracked by shock and grief. These emotions cause him to be temporarily stunned and off guard, and gives Selene her opportunity. She breaks off the tip of one of Marcus's talons and impales his head with it before shoving him backwards into the still whirling blades of a crashed helicopter, cutting him to pieces and killing him. ''Blood Enemy'' Marcus also appears in the non-canon novel, Blood Enemy. Here he has a son named Nicolae, who Marcus considers to be a great disappointment. He and Nicolae argue constantly, and Marcus is disgusted by his son's hedonistic personality. In an effort to subdue Nicolae's behavior, Marcus and Viktor arrange a marriage between their two children, Nicolae and Sonja. This causes Sonja to become so distraught that she admits her pregnancy by Lycan slave Lucian, and attempts to flee with him, leading to her execution at the hands of Viktor. In Blood Enemy, the relationship between Viktor and Marcus does not appear to be strained, and Marcus speaks kindly to Viktor when informing him that his wife had been recently killed in an attack by mortals. Another notable change is Marcus's appearance; while his character in Evolution is bearded and has red hair, he is described in Blood Enemy as being clean shaven with black hair. This is due to Blood Enemy being written before the production of Evolution. Personality According to the prologue for the Rise of the Lycans novelization, Marcus, like his twin brother, William, was a careless and over-confident youth due to the knowledge of his Immortality. As a by-product of their identical Corvinus Strain, Marcus shared a bond with his twin brother that their father, it seamed, could never see; (i.e. if seperated, the twins could sense each other's presense when they came within proximity to one-other, as shown on the night of William's capture in 1202 AD). As such they each shared a strong bond of loyalty to each other, closer than to anyone else, even other members of their family. Their bond is as such that Marcus-alone was safe from William's aggression, following William becoming the first Werewolf, and even after centuries of starvation. After William was bitten, Marcus' primary motivation to bringing William in was due to their bond, but equally-so was Marcus' motivation due to a form of survivor's guilt"And yet, William could not be blamed for what he had become. Marcus stared in sorrow at his vanquished brother. If not for a capricious twist of fate, their destinies might have been reversed. ''He might have first Vampire, Marcus thought, and I... an animal. He alone understood how his brother had fought against the curse." ~ Marcus, ''Evolution novelization, chapter 3. Whilst Marcus could not deny that his brother posed such an enormous threat to Human and Vampire-alike, Marcus, over the centuries, blinded by his love for his brother, remained steadfast under the delusion that he could bring his brother in from his bloodlust, and could never bring himself to think otherwise; going so-far as to believe that he and William would reign over the growing Coven together"William and I can still reign over the Coven as we were always meant to." ~ Marcus, Evolution novelization, chapter 3. Viktor, however, knew that Marcus' continuous "sympathy" for William in his current condition, to the extent that Marcus believes that William could be brought into the folds of the Coven, was no-more than a foolish dream, (Viktor, as well as wanting leverage over Marcus, (unhappy with having to be subservient to a younger man), also feared the power that the two could gain if Marcus could rein-in William), uses the guarantee of/threat to William's continued safety to usurp Marcus' position as 'first amongst equals' for himself. Viktor's coup, whilst keeping Marcus from turing on Viktor outright, forcing Marcus to restrain himself, results in Marcus avowing revenge for both the wrongs wrought upon both William and himself, against both the Coven and the world, no matter how long he must bide his time for"I shall not forget you, my brother, the Elder vowed. He wiped a bloodred tear from the corner of his eye. I will bide my time until our moment comes round again. No matter how long we must wait, someday you shall be free once more. And the world will tremble before us." ~ Marcus, ''Evolution novelization, chapter 3. By the time of the events of the present, Marcus had gone far down the path of insanity"Fervor burned in Marcus' eyes, and Corvinus realized that his son had truely mad." ~''Evolution'' novelization, chapter 19, expressing the belief that it is the "destiny" of him and his family to rule, if they were but to 'seize' it; planning to create a new Immortal race "in the image of their makers", and with himself as "their new gods", (intending to likewise hybridize William"Still waist-deep in the water, Selene watched William escape. The amount of Silver they had pumped into William's hide should have been enough to poison any ordinary Lycan, but Selene feared that William would not be so easily killed. In essence, William was the Lycan equivalent of an Elder... hell, he was ''the Lycan Elder. I suppose I should be thankful, Selene thought, that Marcus hasn't tried to turn William into a hybrid yet." ~''Evolution'' novelization, chapter 21), and this time would be loyal solely to him and his brother after his experiences with Viktor. Whilest Marcus was once sympathetic to the plight of the Humans, (and later the Vampires, too), at the jaws of the plagues of Werewolf packs roaming the countryside, even after the centuries initially spent trying to capturing William; the eight centuries spent wallowing in his hatred for Viktor and Amelia, and the Coven who sided with them over him and William, left Marcus so wound up in his thirst for his vengeance, and his madness, that he no-longer has any empathy for the suffering of others, (i.e. taunting Selene about how she 'should have died with the rest of her family', when he-himself had suffered centuries of separation from his brother), and cares for nothing beyond himself and his brother"This is how it should have always been. The two of us united against the world." ~Marcus, Evolution novelization, chapter 20, having become almost sociopathic so, at the time of their deaths. Powers & Abilities Because Marcus is the first Vampire, his powers are superior to that of the rest of his kind, including Viktor and Amelia. His transformation into a Hybrid greatly enhanced his already formidable powers and granted him the ability to transform into a demonic looking beast with bat-like features. He has enough control over his transformation that he can turn only his hand into a claw as well as his wings, and can presumably change other parts of his body. Due to his age, he is also likely versed in weapons use, at least those of the medieval kind, such as swords, as he is seen using one to attack his father. *'Superhuman Strength:' As the first of his kind, Marcus possesses physical strength which far surpasses that of any other Vampire, including Viktor or Amelia. After his transformation into a Hybrid, his formidable strength was further enhanced, as shown when he lifts a massive, solid stone door to reach William, pulling down a helicopter from mid air using one of its cables and overpowering other Hybrids such as Michael or Selene (though Marcus also had the upper hand due to his superior combat experience) on various occasions. *'Superhuman Endurance:' Marcus is able to endure multiple injuries, including being partially crushed by a small truck, sustaining multiple gunshots at point-blank range, having one of his hands destroyed by a helicopter blade, having one of his wing talons broken, being stabbed through the brain by said talon (though it did stun him) and is only killed when Selene pushes him against the same helicopter blade, thus tearing apart his body. *'Superhuman Healing:' Marcus likely has a very potent healing factor, given his age and status, which is only further enhanced after becoming a Hybrid. He is able to recover from various injuries due to being partially crushed by a truck in little more than a day. *'Superhuman Speed:' As a Vampire (and later Hybrid), Marcus can move at great speeds. *'Blood Memory Sorting:' Like all Elders, Marcus can read a person's memories by drinking their blood. *'Flight:' Due to him being a Vampire/Lycan Hybrid, Marcus developed a pair of bat-like wings that can deploy and retract onto his back. The tips of his wings are also extremely sharp and can be used as weapons to impale or slash opponents. Trivia * In all of the official credits, all novelizations, on the official websites, and in the production notes, Marcus' name is spelt with a 'C'. However, in the opening text crawl prologue of Evolution, Marcus' name is incorrectly spelt as "Markus", most likely because the spelling of Viktor's name features the spelling of it's Eastern-European variant; with a 'K' instead of the useral 'C'. * Marcus's name is derived from "Mars", the Ancient Roman God of War, an appropriate name for the son of a warlord. * Tony Curran states in the production notes that Marcus is younger than Viktor, hence Marcus was only a Vampire for a few years before turning Viktor"It also means that Viktor, who is played by Bill Nighy in a flashback sequence that begins the new film, was merely a usurper. “I was the first,” declares Tony Curran of Marcus, “but it doesn’t mean I was the most powerful. I was an arrogant young vampire; Viktor was a powerful man and when he became a vampire, being older and more experienced, he took over the leadership." ~''Underworld Evolution'' full production notes. However, in the novelizations, Marcus is described to be chronologically older than Viktor. * Marcus's name is misspelled as "Markus" in the opening text crawl of Underworld: Evolution. The novelizations, credits, official websites, and production notes all spell his name as "Marcus". * Marcus is the first Vampiric/Hybrid character shown to feed on animal blood, though the first mention of this is made in the Underworld novelization. Quotes Gallery For a complete list of images of Marcus Corvinus, please visit the Marcus images category. Marcusconcept.jpg|Concept art of Marcus's wing by Patrick Tatopoulos. seeing the village.jpg|Marcus sees the village. Marcus.PNG|Marcus takes up arms against the Werewolves. Marcusevo.jpg|Marcus during the village battle. Underworld-Evolution-s22.jpg|Marcus sees Viktor's treachery. Marcusescape.jpg|Marcus attacks Kraven's men. Marcus listens to Kraven.JPG|Marcus's wing talons stretch well beyond his body. Marcus talks to Kraven.jpg|Marcus confronts Kraven. Marcuskill.jpg|Marcus prepares to kill Kraven. Marcus accesing computer in safe house.jpg|Marcus in a vampire safe house. Marcus4.jpg|A wounded Marcus looks on as Selene and Michael escape him. Marcus1.jpg|Marcus in his Hybrid form. Marcusbarn.jpg|Marcus in a stable. Marcus speaks to Tanis.jpg|Speaking to Andreas. Bloodymarcus.jpg|Marcus after killing the crew of his father's ship. speaks to alexander.jpg|Speaking to Alexander. Marcus in the prison.jpg|Marcus in William's Prison. Marcuswilliam3.jpg|Marcus with William. Williamandmarcus.jpg|Marcus releases William. looking at Sel.jpg|Stares at Selene. Marcusmad.jpg|Marcus screaming in rage. Selene & Marcus, fighting..jpg|Selene confronting Marcus. Marcus.png|Marcus being stabbed by Selene. Marcuswolf.jpeg|A joke behind the scenes image of actor Tony Curran with a Werewolf. References es:Marcus Corvinus Category:Blood Enemy characters Category:Underworld characters Category:Male characters Category:Deceased Category:Antagonists Category:Characters Category:Vampires Category:Vampire Elders Category:Hybrids Category:Evolution characters Marcus Corvinus